2 hydrants out of service during Republic Steel fire

LORAIN — Two nearby fire hydrants were out of service as the Lorain Fire Department set up to control the fire at Republic Steel’s new electric arc furnace, according to the LFD’s official report.
Five people suffered minor injuries and the extent of damage was unknown when the blaze broke out about 2 p.m. Saturday.
Republic Steel on Sunday did not publish a follow up statement but on Saturday night a managing director said investigating the cause and extent of damage could take days and would start this week.
The Lorain Fire Department’s event narrative offered few clues about a possible cause of the blaze Saturday afternoon at the mill, 1807 E. 28th St., Lorain.
The report noted the oxygen line to the electric arc furnace had ruptured at ground level, destroying several feet of eight-inch to 10-inch oxygen supply piping.
However, firefighters could not tell if this was a cause of the fire or the effect from another event, the report stated.
Engineers stated they were suspecting a back-fire from the operating furnace somehow got into the oxygen supply line, the LFD report stated.
The line “had a blowtorch effect” on the structure adjacent to the breached piping system, the report stated. The oxygen supply fire spread the fire to the bottom two floors of the main control center for the furnace, with heavy smoke damage to the third floor, according to the report.
Firefighters found two hydrants, one on the south side of the building and one on the north side, were not working.
Fire Capt. Tom Baker on Saturday explained he called for the Lorain County Water Shuttle and mutual aid with the Elyria Fire Department’s aerial truck.
He also credited the city fire department, administration and utilities department for efforts to replace hydrants that are out of service.
Baker estimated the fire caused damages that could total in the millions of dollars, but he and the report noted the estimates were based on opinion only.
On Saturday the water shuttle was not needed as firefighters were able to get the flames under control. The fire department left the mill about 3:30 p.m.
The electric arc furnace is an $85 million project expected to create almost 450 jobs at the Lorain facility. The project has been in the works for several years and has been praised for the potential good economic effects for Lorain.